Rendered into English by John Blofeld Foreword by Charles Luk This eighth-century classic is a complete translation of Hui Hai’s teachings. He was one of the early Chan/Zen masters (along with Ma Tsu and Huang Po) following on from Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch.

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Sudden Illumination means deliverance while still in this life. How shall I make you understand that? You may be compared to lion cubs, which are genuine lions from the time of their birth; for, with those who undertake to become suddenly illumined, it is just like that. The moment they practise it, they enter the Buddha-stage, just as the shoots put forth by bamboos in spring will have grown to resemble the parent plants without the least difference remaining even before spring has departed.

* * *

‘Once a man who practised Chan asked Hui Hai: “It is said that mind is identical with the Buddha, but which of these is really the Buddha?” Hui Hai: “What do you suppose is not the Buddha? Point it out to me!” As there was no answer, the Master added: “If you comprehend (the mind), the Buddha is omnipresent to you; but if you do not awaken to it, you will remain astray and distant from him for ever.”’

Hui Hai was a student of Ma Tsu (709–788; Japanese, Baso) and from the same line as Huai-hai Pai Chang, Huang Po, and Rinzai (Lin-chi). John Blofeld (1913-1987), a noted Buddhist writer and translator, was one of the few Englishmen to experience life in China prior to the Communist revolution. His love of that country and of Buddhism enabled him to translate the texts with feeling and insight.

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